Hurricane Dolly weakens inland at South Texas

Many of those who headed north to escape the storm were stopped
at inland Border Patrol checkpoints, where agents opened extra
lanes so they could check documentation. At one checkpoint on U.S.
Route 77, smugglers were caught with 5,000 to 8,000 pounds of
marijuana.

Power was knocked out to more than 56,200 customers in three
border counties. South Padre Island also lost power.

Thousands of people fled to shelters in towns on both sides of
the border while police and National Guard troops patrolled
neighborhoods.

In Brownsville, the wind bent over palm trees and tossed debris
across the all-but empty streets. The windows and doors of shops
were boarded up with plywood, and most businesses were closed.

The U.S. Census Bureau said that based on Dolly's projected
path, about 1.5 million Texans could feel the storm's effects. Gov.
Rick Perry declared 14 south Texas counties disaster areas and
sought federal disaster declarations.

As Dolly approached, oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico
evacuated workers from 62 production platforms and eight rigs,
according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which monitors
offshore activity.

Shell Oil, which didn't expect production to be affected by the
evacuations, also secured wells and shut down operations in the Rio
Grande Valley, where it primarily deals in natural gas.

The last hurricane to hit the U.S. was the fast-forming
Humberto, which came ashore in South Texas last September. Dolly is
the 26th hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in July since
record keeping started in 1851, according to federal
researchers.

The busiest part of the Atlantic hurricane season is usually in
August and September. So far this year, there have been four named
storms, two of which became hurricanes. Federal forecasters predict
a total of 12 to 16 named storms and six to nine hurricanes this
season.